Data Retention & Deletion Policy
This policy defines the retention schedules, archival boundaries, and deletion mechanisms governing student accommodation records, CNIC uploads, financial records, and system telemetry across Hostel Cloud.
1. Principles of Data Retention
Hostel Cloud retains personal information only for the duration necessary to deliver platform features, facilitate accommodation administration, support legitimate audit defenses, and comply with applicable statutory obligations. When these purposes expire, records are removed from active databases or purged from object storage.
2. Technical Architecture of Deletion
Understanding data deletion requires clarity on our technical storage layers:
When an account or property record is deleted, resident entries, room allocations, gate passes, and associated logs are systematically removed from active databases.
Uploaded photographs, student documents, and invoice files are purged across configured storage disks upon verified record deletion.
Routine server telemetry, temporary web sessions, and error diagnostic logs are automatically purged on defined rolling cycles (ranging from 2 to 90 days).
Encrypted backup snapshots follow rolling expiration cycles and overwrite naturally as rotation cycles complete.
3. Data Retention Schedule Matrix
| Data Category | Operational Context | Retention Schedule | Action Upon Expiry |
|---|---|---|---|
| User Profile & Account | Student & hostel owner profile information | Active account duration + 90-day grace period upon requested closure | Hard deletion of profile records |
| Resident CNIC Scans & Documents | CNIC/Form-B copies uploaded by student or hostel admin | Active tenancy period (archived or removed upon checkout clearance) | Purged from cloud file storage |
| Student IDs & Photographs | Hostel gate pass and resident verification files | Duration of active residency at the respective hostel | Deleted upon departure clearance |
| Booking & Room Allocations | Room allocation history, check-in/out records | 3 years from check-out date (for tenancy dispute resolution and audit) | Archived or aggregated for occupancy metrics |
| Financial Vouchers & Invoices | Hostel fee vouchers, SaaS subscription receipts | Up to 6 years (in compliance with commercial tax and accounting standards in Pakistan) | Archived or permanently deleted per statutory limits |
| Guest Sessions & Telemetry | Guest web sessions, bot visits, error logs | Sessions: 2 days • Bots: 7 days • Error logs: 60 days • Analytics: 90 days | Automated rolling purge |
| Database Backups | Disaster recovery snapshots | 30-day automated rolling rotation lifecycle | Overwritten automatically |
4. Account Deletion Process
Registered users seeking to close their account may submit a formal deletion request:
- Submission: Send a written request to [email protected].
- Authentication: Identity ownership is verified via email or registered phone verification.
- Execution: Account credentials and direct profile records are deactivated and queued for purge, subject to ongoing tenancy fee disputes or statutory tax retention duties.